


The Nibel Witch Project

by Tobiroth



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Multi, OT5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 09:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2543327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tobiroth/pseuds/Tobiroth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud Strife is not a witch. Or, at least, that's what he's always said and believed. But after a mob of villagers chase him into the local haunted mansion, he is forced to reconsider when he meets a strange group of men. They say their friend is trapped by a horrible curse, confined to a raven's body. They say they need the help of a witch to save him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Nibel Witch Project

**Author's Note:**

> Have a very happy Halloween!  
> This is Part 1 of 2.

It did not matter how many years one lived in Nibelheim. The town's harsh climate was unforgiving, and played no favorites. Despite the Strife family living there for generations and Cloud, its youngest, having spent the entirety of his twenty-three years of life there, the Nibel forest on the edges of town was as perilous for him to cross as it would be to a tourist—if Nibelheim ever got any of those.

This time it was a twisting root, one of an ancient tree that stretched up to the night sky as if escaping the dusty stagnation of the town below. Cloud's boot caught it and he went down with a crash, rolling out of his fall and coming to rest against the trunk of another tree. The stinging of his hands and knees indicated scratches, but his ankle was miraculously unsprained. It was a small relief, though, because the deafening crack of a shotgun echoed through the forest. A bullet whizzed through the trees and struck one a dozen feet to the right, sending a large branch to the forest floor.

"Where is he?" called a voice. A few others responded, their footsteps getting closer.

Through his dizziness from the fall Cloud pushed himself to his feet. He stumbled but continued to run, anywhere, away from town—every bullet that just managed to miss him was one less bullet aimed at the Strife family home, which had been their original target.

 _It's Halloween,_ the leader of the little militia had declared, the man who ran the local bookshop,  _We won't stand for a witch in Nibelheim any longer. Tonight is the day you must go._

Cloud's mother was no witch, but the rumors had circulated so often and for so long that everyone believed it anyway. With just the two of them living together there was no one else to take care of his mom than Cloud.

Foolishly he had snuck around the house to the other side of the militia, waved his arms, and shouted,  _If you're so intent on finding a witch, congratulations, you found him_. The gunshots rang out, probably waking his sickly mother from her evening rest, and the chase began.

They were deep in the forest now, a thick maze of tree trunks and prickly bushes that pulled at his jeans and shoelaces. Cloud had lost all sense of direction twenty minutes back after taking another tumble down a rocky hill and rolling to the bottom. Another bullet struck a tree, this time a short distance to his left, and Cloud hooked right, trying to get as far away from them as he could.

He clutched his side, pushing his legs through the sharp pain from not enough oxygen. He was wearing out, but so were they; this could not continue all night.

To Cloud's dismay there was a steep hill to the right, but it was the way he had chosen and it was too late to change course now. He scrambled up on all fours, his knees occasionally crashing to the dirt as the rocks he used for purchase gave way, rolling back down to the bottom. Knowing it would give away his position Cloud climbed faster, his vision darkening with the lack of oxygen. It couldn't be helped. When he reached the top he paused for a moment, heaving on all fours, close to vomiting from the exertion.

When it passed he lifted his head, and gasped.

He'd stumbled on the sort of place it was only possible to find by accident. He and his friend Tifa from town had done so as children, getting lost and spending an hour or so attempting to scale the wall or get past the front gate of ShinRa Manor before giving up and heading home. As kids they hadn't had phones with GPS but everyone in town said that the place wasn't able to be navigated to that way anyway. The house was haunted, they said—stay away, that's where witches and ghosts live.

Cloud wrapped his fingers around the iron bars of the front gate. They were freezing in the chill of the night and he shook them desperately, praying for entrance. They held firm and Cloud let out a shout of frustration, pounding the metal with the heel of his hand.

"He's at the mansion!" yelled a feminine voice and Cloud cursed. He pulled at the gates harder. When they didn't give he attempted to climb up, but his boots gained no purchase on the metal, sliding off like they were coated in oil.

The shouting and the yells got closer and louder and Cloud let out a sob, pulling fruitlessly against the bars. The lock in the center was huge, a sturdy square box. There was no space for a key.

"Fuck!" Cloud growled. He kicked the fence and smashed at the box with his hand, saying desperately, " _Please_ open up." Behind him, the first villager came into view, looking exhausted herself, like she'd barely made it up the small mountain.

Their eyes met. "He's up here!" she screamed, and reached for something on her back.

The gates opened with a loud click and Cloud fell forward, still looking behind him at the woman. There was no time to question his luck; he threw them shut behind him and ran for the front door of the manor. It was tall, wooden, and covered with ivy, much like the rest of the building. As far as he knew no one had been inside for over a hundred years. This door was miraculously unlocked and Cloud threw it open, darting inside and slamming it closed.

Outside there were the sounds of yelling, gunshots, and the buzzing of the forest. Inside it was absolutely silent. Through the dim moonlight shining in the window he could make out that he was in a very large room, with two winding staircases in the center that led up to the second floor of the house. He didn't look for long, going to the front window a few feet beside the door. It was dirty and cracked, but he wiped at it with his sleeve and managed to peer out.

The small crowd was at the gate, but they couldn't seem to get in. Cloud was uncomfortable having his back to the large room and hunched his shoulders unconsciously. He could have sworn he broke the gate from all the violence to it, but it seemed to be holding firm against his pursuers.

Cloud's breath came in ragged, whistling pants. He held a hand to his sternum and tried to calm down. His mind raced with thoughts of his mother, who he hoped was blissfully unaware of everything, and of the crowd outside. Would they ever leave? Would he be stuck in this empty house all night?

Gradually, his breath evened out. He relaxed, and his fingers stopped trembling in their grip on the windowsill. Cloud noticed, however, quite suddenly, that the whistling sound did not stop—every time he exhaled he heard a sharp, high whine, like a crying dog. Something was starting to smell very bad.

The blond hair that fell to Cloud's neck shifted with a puff of breath from whatever was directly behind him. "Hello," came a gruff voice, inches away.

Cloud yelled and spun, his fist flying out even as he gagged on a cloud of damp, rancid air.

He did not connect but spotted a large, misshapen figure lumbering away up the nearby staircase to the second floor. The stairs creaked loudly in the silence under its massive weight like human groans of agony. Cloud froze, his eyes wide as he fruitlessly tried to peer through the dark.

The moment of shock passed and Cloud sprang into action. He grabbed his phone from his pocket, turned on the flashlight feature, and ran for a door to the left wing of the house. He couldn't leave, due to the villagers with guns just outside, and upstairs was some grotesque  _thing_ that had just been behind him, oh Gaia—

He sprinted down a large hall and through two wide double doors at the end of it. The bright light of his phone reflected off of a group of metallic surfaces, blinding him. It was a kitchen. There was another door on the far end that led to another room and various old appliances, as well as a table covered in years of dust and debris. A few roaches hurried out of sight at the bright light. Cloud stopped moving and pushed his back against an ancient refrigerator. He shone his phone left and right, a hand over his mouth to muffle his panicked breathing.

Fuck, was that thing even  _human_? It had spoken, but that horrible breath, like a beast's, that unnatural whistle…

Were there more people in here? Some kind of cult? Or…what if the townspeople were right, and this place was…haunted?

The crash of something falling to the floor came from beyond the other exit. Cloud shoved his phone in his pocket and crept for the double doors he had come in before. Cloud heard footsteps, loud, like boot heels clicking on the dusty hardwood. But then the sound morphed into several sharp  _taps_ in succession, like the scuttling of many legs.

Cloud slipped through the doors and hurried back down the hallway, his feet light, trying not to make a sound. Behind him the double doors opened again, and Cloud glanced over his shoulder.

The sight he saw made him trip over his own feet, and he rolled around on the dirty carpet, his cut palms screaming at him in protest. He scrambled up, limbs moving without the conscious order from his brain, but something pushed down on his back. His cheek hit the carpet and he struggled, but it was no use—he was pinned effortlessly by what felt like a hand. He had not  _seen_ a hand, though, and started to plead, his arms flailing, trying to grab at something to attack with.

"Let me go," he shouted, terrified. It was pitch black and the dust on the ground, disturbed from his movements, got in his eyes and made him choke. "I'm sorry and I'm not here to attack whatever you are I just want to get home and—"

His hand reached something that felt heavy like a rock, and he brought it back above his head with all his might.

His wrist was snatched and none too gently forced back down to the carpet. The object rolled away out of reach.

Cloud sensed something dipping, to rest just against his head. More soft breath puffed on him, this time on the shell of his ear and without the stench from whatever thing he had encountered earlier. "I have enough venom in one of my bites to kill you ten times over," his attacker murmured, "So why don't you calm down?"

Calming down was the last thing Cloud was capable of doing, and he attempted to wrench his wrist out of the other's grip. "Fuck! I said let me go, I— _aaah_!" He screamed as he felt it, what he had thought he saw, a warm, hard limb, covered in soft hairs. It shifted against his arm and something at the end clicked in warning. Fangs.

While bucking his back Cloud's mouth spewed senseless pleas for escape, but the man—thing—above him did not relent. The horrible sounds of clicking and shifting above him made Cloud panic more but the man's human hands pinned his arms down. A heavy weight settled over his back and Cloud gasped, then began to cough from the inhalation of dust.

The man had enough limbs to easily render Cloud immobile. When the blond could no longer struggle, still choking, eyes teary as they tried to cleanse themselves of the dust in the air, he spoke again.

"I won't hurt you. Relax, little one."

Cloud just grunted in response, shuddering weakly with revulsion. A hairy spider's leg brushed against the exposed skin of his hip where his shirt had ridden up and he let out an exhausted groan, unable to wriggle away.

"Sssh," came the voice again, back at his ear. Cloud could feel hair touching his cheek, human hair; their faces were so close.

"What do you want?" Cloud asked. He tried to focus; he was getting dizzy from the lack of proper oxygen.

"I want you to calm down," he answered. He waited a moment, then made an approving sound as Cloud's arms went lax. Then, to Cloud's horror, various legs turned him over onto his back. Those human hands came down on his wrists again and the blond man peered up at what he could make out of the shadowy form above him. He could just barely see human skin, a face and a bare chest, pale, and the monstrous shape of eight large legs from a dark thorax just where his hips should have been.

"It's not often we get visitors, and never pretty ones. Congratulations on getting inside, witch."

"I'm not a witch," Cloud protested instinctively, a reflex years-old.

"No? Is that not what they are calling you outside?" The voice of the creature above him was rich and strangely musical, like he was reading a poem.

Cloud tried to be as firm as he could. "They don't know what they're talking about. I'm not a witch, but I need to leave." His voice wavered, but he glared up as fiercely as he could. He had a feeling the spider could see him better than he could see back.

"But you got in," the man countered, sounding amused. "That's evidence enough, isn't it? Will you cooperate if I let go of your arms?"

"Yes," Cloud said instantly.

The human hands let go of his wrists and Cloud brought them protectively above his head and chest. He pushed out but immediately encountered a stiff spider limb and let out another weak shout, attempting to scramble backwards. No luck.

To his horror the human head nuzzled at his own. "You smell so nice," he murmured, turning his head so his lips grazed Cloud's cheek. "That's power, you know. I think you're who I've been looking for tonight." He drew back a few inches, and his spider limbs rustled as he shifted his weight. "It's a good thing I was the first one to capture you and not any of the other  _brutes_ in this house, hm?

"I have a problem, and I need a witch to help solve it. You see, someone close to me has been—"

Cloud struck the man's face with his fist as hard as he could. The spider yelled and slumped to the side a bit—it was enough that Cloud could throw off his weight. He scrambled to his feet and ran down the hallway.

"Fuck!" The spider yelled after him, his voice so loud in the quiet, "You little shit!"

The spider came after him, the sounds of all eight legs pounding against the weak floors echoing off the walls. The door back to the foyer of the mansion where he had entered was too far away; Cloud entered the first door to the left he encountered and unthinkingly ran down the steps beyond it. The light of his phone showed him the dreary concrete walls of the basement, wooden tables with boxes of various things, and things at the edges of his vision which Cloud didn't have the mental energy to spare any attention to at the moment. He ran through the rooms down here, banging his aching knees against the occasional odd table.

From behind him the spider called, "Hey!" If anything the maze down here seemed to be slowing him down. There was a pause, and then the sounds of scuttling stopped, followed by the familiar beat of two human feet.

"Stop running, moron! You'll fall down! I have to explain—"

Whatever it was the man wanted to explain Cloud did not hear. His foot, instead of hitting concrete, sank down into something warm and soft. He aimed his phone down at a pool of swirling fluid, dark and viscous that did not seep into his jeans. He sank down further.

Just before he fell entirely into the pool he looked back at his pursuer. The bright light of his phone illuminated him finally. He looked completely human, wore dark pants on two normal legs, and underneath his auburn bangs his eyes were wide and panicked. He reached out with a hand as if to pull Cloud out. The blond unthinkingly grasped for him, but before their hands could touch Cloud disappeared under the surface entirely.

* * *

The thundering hooves of a hundred beasts woke Cloud. Everything was sore, his neck, his back, and especially his palms and knees. The vibrating of the surface he was on made it hard to balance, the muscles of his core aching as he stabilized himself. It was dark out, though moonlight bathed the grassy clearing he was in. Beyond him, the herd of animals disappeared into a forest. The ground went still, the only sound the echo of all that noise in his ears.

He was lying on a giant pumpkin. The stalk at the top by his waist was as thick as he, and a good four feet tall. "What the  _fuck_ ," he murmured, peering over the edge at the grass. It didn't seem like the animals were coming back but something made him not want to get down despite the apparent safety.

Where the hell  _was_ he? He remembered ShinRa Manor, that man who was part spider who had chased him, and falling through that pool in the floor of the basement to… this place, wherever he was. A place with giant pumpkins.

Faintly Cloud heard the cry of a bird, and he lifted his head. It swiveled as he searched for it. "Where…?" He murmured, eyes drooping. He slid off the pumpkin, falling six or so feet that his feet dangled above. The ground was soft thankfully, and he stood back up without injury.

The bird's cry came again, and Cloud followed it. He disappeared into the forest opposite the direction those strange animals had ran, animals he hadn't been able to get a good look at. He doubted they were the mountain goats native to Nibelheim. The forest was full of strange mushrooms that glowed and trees that were colors one would never find back home, illuminated only slightly here on the forest floor by the light of the moon—no,  _two_ moons.

Cloud hardly paid attention to all the new, strange things, though; he kept his head up towards the sky whenever he wasn't aiming his phone's light at the ground. The bird hadn't made any noise in a few minutes, he hoped he hadn't lost it…

The cry came again, questioning, looking for him—Cloud changed his course a bit and ran, breathless, through the underbrush. He tripped again but hardly noticed, immediately pushing back up. After a few minutes he emerged into another clearing, this one smaller, with a few tree stumps in the center of tall grasses that went up to his shin. He went to one of them and braced his hands on it, panting.

From above his head came the chirp of the bird, and he raised his head. It finally emerged over the treetops nearby and spread its wings wide, slowing it down. Cloud raised his cupped hands, his eyelids at half-mast, out of control of his own body.

The raven landed in them. Cloud held his hands flat so it could balance and brought the bird even with his face. It was large and a brilliant, shiny black that reflected the light of the moons. Running down from the bird's crest was a swath of silver feathers, not gray—they positively shone.

"I know you," Cloud murmured, his touch gentle. He dipped his head so he could look closer. "I know you, don't I?"

The raven met his gaze. Its beady eyes were a bright green, not unlike some of the mushrooms he had passed minutes earlier. Cloud's eyes closed and he swayed on his feet as if drunk. "How do we…?"

The raven ducked its head and pressed the top of its small skull against Cloud's forehead. Around Cloud's feet the grass whistled, buffeted by a sudden wind that whipped up around the clearing. The spot where his forehead touched the raven suddenly burned—Cloud hissed and jerked back, flapping his hands to dislodge the bird's feet on his fingers, causing white-hot pain.

The raven perched on the stump and Cloud fell back on his ass, staring up. The pain faded as quickly as it had come. His hands were unscarred, and his forehead felt fine.

The strange fog that had settled over Cloud when he first heard the bird's cry faded and he rubbed at his eyes. The raven croaked at him. Cloud held out his hand again, hesitantly, and it hopped onto his hand. There was no discomfort, and he stared evenly at it.

"What the hell is going on? You're a bird." Cloud frowned, and the raven tilted its head. Then it  _nodded,_ fucking nodded.

"You know you're a bird."

Another nod and a rustle of wings, like it was exasperated.

"And how do I—I've never seen you before in my life. Why would I feel like I…" Cloud trailed off, rubbing at his eyes again. He was so tired. "Where are we?" he asked it. "I take it this isn't Nibelheim."

The raven just stared at him. It jumped off his hand and took to the air again. Cloud watched it from his seat but it croaked again. Somehow, and Cloud was not sure how, he knew it wanted him to stand up. He did so and it started to fly, low enough for him to see but high enough to perch on one of the branches of a nearby tree. He was to follow.

He entered the forest again. The raven was always a few dozen feet ahead, and Cloud almost lost him a few times. He always came back though, ruffling his wings to get his attention before taking off again. Once or twice Cloud stumbled, exhausted down to the bone. The raven perched on his shoulder for a second and butted its head against his jaw, an  _I know you can do it._

This trip seemed longer than the one that had gotten Cloud here originally. This forest was not nearly as treacherous as the one outside Nibelheim, however, a small comfort. They passed more glowing mushrooms and fallen tree trunks crawling with three-headed bugs that hissed as they walked by. They made Cloud feel sick.

Soon large shapes came into view, quickly revealed as more massive pumpkins. It was a pumpkin patch, on flat ground, and beyond the patch—a city. It was bright and full of lights. From their short distance it looked like a picture of Junon Cloud had seen in a magazine. It was nothing like Nibelheim.

The bird croaked again, impatient, and Cloud hurried past the pumpkins and onto a dirt road. They crossed a small bridge, spanning a stream at the base of the pumpkin patch. The raven hovered in front of him, its arms flapping wildly, and stared him down.

 _Stay,_ it was telling him.

Mystified, and unsure how he was understanding, Cloud nodded. The raven took off into the city and Cloud relaxed against the railing of the bridge. It was unusually warm for October; his t-shirt was clinging to him from sweat after the long trek here. He was still covered in dust and dirt from the mansion and his tussle with the horrible man-spider, and his palms were scabbed. The knees of his jeans were torn in a few places.

Cloud clutched at the railing, feeling dizzy. He bent and put his forehead on top of his hands, shakily steadying his breathing. His legs trembled from exhaustion and every breath reminded him how sore his body was.

His mother was at home, he hoped. Sleeping, or watching Halloween specials on their old television. He wasn't sure what the odds were that the townsfolk left her alone after failing to get inside the mansion; he could only hope for the best.

The mansion… if he had fallen through the basement into this place then there must be a way back. Cloud clenched his fist, trying to maintain control.

He had to get home.

"Heeeey!"

He lifted his head and peered down the dirt road at a man jogging towards him while waving. The strange raven was perched on his shoulder. Cloud straightened up.

"There you are," he said easily, seemingly unbothered by his run. "Glad you made it here in one piece. I'm Zack, you are?"

"Cloud," the blond replied numbly. "What…?"

Everything was confusing. Zack wore strange clothes, too—like something from a book. Tall brown buckled boots, tight black pants, and a waistcoat with a belt around his waist with white puffy sleeves and a fluttery cravat. It didn't look quite like velour or felt but looked soft and rather shiny.

Zack smiled, and his mouth was full of sharp teeth.

"You probably have so many questions!" Zack put his hands on his hips and frowned. He glanced at the raven. "I guess… we'll take you back to our place. We have to have a meeting, I think. But I can tell you the good stuff along the way. C'mon."

He started walking towards the city, and Cloud stared at his back. The raven twisted around on Zack's shoulder and gave him a look. The blond's feet started to move.

"Sooo," Zack drawled. "As I said, I'm Zack. This here is Sephiroth." He wiggled his shoulder. "And this is Halloween Town, or Midgar any other time of the year! It gets renamed for the holiday season. You're not from here, huh?"

"No," Cloud said shakily. "I'm from Nibelheim. I fell through this pool of shit in the basement and ended up here, and I need to get back home—"

"Hey." Zack stopped him with a gentle touch to his wrist, unlike the powerful one from the creature in the mansion earlier. "It's okay. We're gonna listen to everything you have to say, okay Cloud? Don't worry about it. You're going to be fine." Zack smiled, and despite all the sharp teeth Cloud felt himself relaxing, unable to help but believe him.

"Okay," he breathed. The raven let out an approving whistle.

Zack wound an arm over his shoulders. "Just listen for a minute. Halloween Town is a great place, but I guess if you're not from the Lifestream it can be a bit overwhelming. Do you do a lot of magic at home?"

" _What_?"

"Shit, guess not, huh? You're one of  _those_. You picked 'em good, huh Seph?"

The raven ruffled its wings, a small shrug. Cloud frowned, feeling curiously stung by the comment. "Well, that's okay," Zack continued, "Just makes our job a little harder. You don't even look like you have a spellbook on you, huh?"

"A spellbook? Is this the witch thing again? I told the spider guy, I'm not a witch."

"You met Genesis!" Zack gasped, sounding delighted. "Good!"

Cloud's brow furrowed, but then he violently jerked backwards, putting Zack between himself and the thing that had just emerged from behind the entrance to the city. It looked like a man but its head was a giant pumpkin. Flame shot out of the jagged eyeholes and mouth as well as out of the top.

"Hey, Jack!" Zack called.

"Zack," the pumpkin replied, raising a hand. "You scare anyone good yet?"

"Not yet. It's not my time of the month, if you know what I mean. But I'll try. I hid some fake cockroaches in Angeal's bed, we'll see what happens."

They passed the pumpkin, Cloud trying very hard not to cower, and Zack finally noticed the blond's distress. "Hey, don't worry about him. Jack's a sweet guy."

"He has a fucking pumpkin for a head!"

"Well, yeah. Didn't you ever read  _Sleepy Hollow_ , man? I  _know_ they have that in your world. Guy whose noggin is a flaming pumpkin? That's Jack's best work, really…"

Cloud craned his neck behind him to observe Jack. Inside the city limits were buildings two or three stories tall at most, mostly brick or stone. All of them were decorated in cobwebs and Halloween-themed things, with green lights and fog machines. Cloud gasped as he spotted a mummy jerkily walking by. It had a reusable tote bag in its hand with what looked like groceries inside.

"Is that a costume?" he whispered.

"No." Zack grabbed his hand, his hand warm. Cloud looked at the raven—Sephiroth?—as he hopped off Zack's shoulder and onto Cloud's. "Just look straight ahead, okay? We want you to get to our house in one piece. You can look all you want later when you're not about to pass out while standing up, alright?"

Zack did not let go of his hand. Normally Cloud would have jerked his hand away—and even that was a guess, because no one had held his hand since his mother when he was a small child—but Zack's fingers gripped tighter when it seemed like the blond was considering it. The raven shifted a wing to brush ticklishly against Cloud's neck.

Sephiroth and Zack's 'house' was an apartment on the second floor of a building above a bookshop. 'HORROR LITERATURE' was all it seemed to have in stock, advertised by several signs and it was currently closed. They went up the outside stairs and Zack unlocked the door. The door had a 'BEWARE OF DOG!' sign hanging from the knob and Cloud braced himself for paws and slobber but none came.

The apartment seemed blessedly normal; there were no fake cobwebs and spiders (or real ones—Cloud was starting to doubt his initial observations outside). It was roomier than expected, but the furniture was all weirdly spaced out, so that may have contributed. There was a normal kitchen, and a normal living room with normal couches and a normal coffee table.

Cloud started to relax.

Zack planted him down on the sofa and sat on the coffee table so they could be close, instead of ten or so feet apart as they would be if he had sat at the other couch. "So," he began. Sephiroth flew over from the corner and landed on Zack's knee. The man ran a thumb gently over the silver down on the raven's back.

"I guess I'll start with the reason you're here. My boyfriend—Sephiroth, here—got a curse placed on him last Halloween. He's been stuck in his bird form for a year."

Most of that information rolled off of Cloud's brain like water hitting hot oil. "You're dating a bird."

Zack laughed, and Sephiroth flapped his wings irritably. "Yeah, I guess. He usually looks human though. A  _curse_ , did you hear me?" He wiped a tear of mirth out of his eye. "He's a familiar, which you know about. So obviously, you two Bonded and you've got to help him now."

"…What?"

"Shit, you really don't know anything, huh? I guess you never had a teacher?"

"A teacher for…?" Cloud gulped, not liking how many times it had been implied that he was…a, what, he didn't know.

"Magic," Zack said, with all the inflection in his voice pointing to 'Duh.'

"I'm not a witch."

Zack frowned. "You don't even… fuck. Cloud, the only reason you're  _here_ right now is because you're a witch. Humans can't get into the Lifestream."

"No, I—I fell through the floor at this mansion. It was an accident."

"Mansion, huh? Where you said you met Genesis? Spider guy?" At Cloud's nod he continued. "Gen was waiting for you—or someone like you, I guess. There's a few places in your world that house portals to ours. Humans wouldn't have been able to get inside the mansion, Spike."

"No," Cloud murmured, shaking his head, "The lock on the gate broke. I just—I just went inside." Sephiroth hopped onto his knee, his small feet tiny points of pressure through his jeans. "There's no way  _ShinRa Manor_ held a portal to a—another world?" His voice rose in pitch and he flattened his hand against his forehead. "Look, my mom might be in trouble and—all I want—is—to get—"

Cloud slid off the couch, clutching at his heart and his hair. His lungs expanded as he tried to gasp in breath, but the walls of the room were closing in and there wasn't any room to calm down for a second—

Zack curled around him, kneeling beside him on the carpet. "Hey, hey, ssh," he murmured, his hands grabbing Cloud's and gently guiding them to his lap. Cloud struggled, his vision darkening around the edges, his ears sealing up to Zack's words.

His new acquaintance continued to speak softly to him, his chin hooked warm and sturdy over Cloud's shoulder. Gradually the blond calmed, leaning back against Zack and the base of the couch.

"There you go," Zack soothed. With his mouth so close to Cloud's ear the blond could hear a hint of a growl behind his words, a constant, soft rumble. Sephiroth perched on Cloud's knee and ducked his tiny head as if trying to draw Cloud's gaze up from his lap. It succeeded, but not before Cloud noticed that the backs of Zack's hands were extremely hairy, and tickled slightly as he finally drew away.

"I'm just so tired," Cloud murmured. "I need to get home."

"You will. You'll get there." Zack patted the cushion of the couch, and Cloud climbed up onto it. "Time works differently here, and especially on Halloween. It's a two-week holiday here, and today is only day one. I  _guarantee_ -" he looked Cloud in the eye and raised one finger, "That in the time it takes you to take a nap nothing bad will happen in your world. Okay? You wanna take a rest?"

Cloud didn't, but in the crash after all the adrenaline in his system that day he was barely conscious, his lids drooping. Sephiroth let out a soft croak, admonishing him. "I guess," he conceded.

"Okay. I'll get you some clothes, those are all ruined… Genesis's, I guess, he seems closest to your size. When he's in his human form, that is!" He laughed to himself like it was hilarious as he disappeared into one of the several bedrooms.

Cloud blinked blearily at Sephiroth, perched on his knee again. He held out his finger and the raven perched on it. His claws appeared cruelly sharp, but they didn't hurt or puncture his skin. As he brought the bird closer to his face he stared into his eerily green eyes. It was hard to imagine that this was a man, one apparently trapped in this form. No wonder it had seemed the bird had understood him back in the forest.

It still felt like he knew Sephiroth, like they were connected somehow. The raven tilted its head and Cloud gave a soft smile instinctively, knowing the bird was worried for him.

How did he know that?

Zack returned with some clothes. Cloud changed in a bathroom (and again it was weirdly large, the shower being a good eight feet by eight feet), washed his face, and at Zack's encouragement laid down on the couch. The soft cushions felt blessedly nice against his aching body.

"Oh, hold on…" Zack murmured. He left and came back with a small bottle of something that glowed green, like Sephiroth's eyes. "Drink this, would you?"

"What is it?"

"A potion. It'll make you heal up while you're asleep."

Cloud looked skeptical, and Zack shrugged. "I dunno what's in them. Magical shit? The apothecary is a mystery to me. But drink it, seriously."

It was a testament to how tired Cloud was that he drank the potion without complaint, wincing at the odd taste. He laid back down, Zack covered him with a spare blanket, and the man smiled reassuringly at him. "We'll talk when you wake up, alright? It'll work out."

Cloud closed his eyes and desperately tried to believe him.

Soft laughter, accompanied by the horrible sound of eight pincers clicking finally made Cloud crack open his eyes. He turned his head, searching for the source of the noise, and bolted off the couch, yelling, as his brain registered who was sitting on the large adjacent armchair.

The blond stumbled backwards and the man-spider from the mansion got up and followed him, his face grim. He reached out and pushed Cloud's shoulders, sending the blond down to the carpet. Somewhere in the room Sephiroth shrieked, his wings flapping, knocking something down off a shelf.

"Gen!" Zack exclaimed, angry.

"He deserved it." Genesis said, turning around and pointing at his eye. "He was the one who punched me!"

Sprawled on the ground, Cloud gazed upwards. Genesis jabbed his human pointer finger at his spectacular black eye, sniffed haughtily, and took his spot again on the armchair. Cautiously the blond returned to his seat, pushing aside the rumpled blanket.

Zack was there, and Sephiroth too, looking angry (or as angry as a bird could look, perhaps). Another man sat with Zack on the opposite couch an awkward distance away, who looked human. Genesis glared at him when their eyes met.

"You're a dick, Gen. You probably scared him."

"He was very scared, but I told him I wasn't going to hurt him, and  _then_ he punched me."

Cloud hardly listened, staring at the giant spider legs. He thought he understood why the furniture was so spaced out. Beside him the redhead huffed, not liking the stares, and before their eyes the legs rapidly started to shrink away. Two human legs sprouted from the thorax and after just a few seconds there was what seemed like a normal guy sitting on the chair, one leg bent over the other at the knee. His suit looked more modern than what Zack was wearing, and the other man beside him wore something extremely similar to Zack's, but also a cape around his shoulders.

"Introductions," Zack said. "You've met Genesis, clearly. Sorry you guys got into a scuffle. That wasn't supposed to happen. I'm Zack, that's Seph, and this is Angeal."

"Hello," the man said, and Cloud smiled awkwardly as their eyes met.

"So now that the gang is all here we can explain a little more. But, food. Angeal made dinner, you hungry?"

"…What?" Cloud breathed. Zack's voice was far away.

His new friend snapped his fingers, and Cloud focused on him. "Food. Yay or nay?"

"I'm starving."

All of them trooped into the kitchen. Cloud was nervous for the menu but it all looked edible enough, some rice, vegetables, and meat. Angeal served it to him and frowned as he handed him the plate.

"You are probably overwhelmed. I'm sorry—we'll do our best to make this easy for you."

Cloud swayed on his feet. "…Thanks…"

Genesis whistled at him to get his attention and Cloud sat down at the kitchen table. There happened to be a chair for him, but Cloud figured it was normally Sephiroth's. The raven sat on Genesis's shoulder and occasionally nibbled at something the man would hold up for him.

"Do you feel better than you did earlier?"

"Much. That potion worked; I'm not sore at all."

Genesis scowled. "You wouldn't be so sore if you hadn't been so violent."

"You  _chased_ me and held me down. Of course I fought you."

"I had to make sure that I got to you before something else in that mansion killed you. Excuse me for ensuring you didn't get  _murdered_."

Angeal murmured something to Genesis that sounded reproachful and the man let out a long-suffering sigh as he returned to his meal.

"Anyway…" Zack rolled his eyes. "So, uh, like I said before, this is the Lifestream. Our world. You're here because yours and Sephiroth's Bond called you here, I'm guessing."

"You said that earlier. 'Bond?'"

"The connection between a witch and a familiar. It's how you two found each other when you got here. You should feel close to him, yeah?"

"So that's it," Cloud murmured, staring at the raven. More than just seeing him there Cloud could  _feel_ him too. "Wait, I—I still don't buy the witch thing."

"Don't be daft," sighed Genesis, though he looked fond. "I saw what happened. The lock at the gates only open by magic. You got in, didn't you? Those mountain people could not."

"I thought it broke."

"No," the redhead shrugged, "It responded to your need to get inside."

Cloud frowned. Zack took pity on him. "I bet if you think back to your life other strange things happened to you. For now, just take our word on it, okay? The fact that you found Seph is proof enough. And, oh yeah—the Mark!"

The men told Cloud to take off his shirt, and after a bit of coaxing Cloud did so. He spun around in a slow circle, feeling strange with their eyes on him. Angeal spotted what they were looking for first.

Genesis's soft lounge pants were a bit too big around his hips so they drooped, exposing an inch or two of Cloud's hipbone. By the elastic of his underwear was the top of a small black tattoo. Angeal hooked a finger in the waistband and tugged Cloud closer with it, then drew down the elastic enough so they could see the mark in its entirety.

"A crescent moon," Zack said, approving. "That makes sense. Sephiroth's last name is 'Crescent,' Cloud. I always say how funny it would be if his last name was 'Full!'"

Genesis groaned, and Sephiroth flapped his wings agitatedly. Angeal let the band of the underwear snap back against his skin and looked up at the blond. "It's a nice one. Congratulations on being Bonded."

Angeal was very handsome. The small beard on his chin looked soft, and the masculine lines of his face were framed by equally soft-looking hair. His eyes were a vivid blood red and Cloud couldn't stop staring at them now that he'd started. His hands came to the man's shoulders to stabilize himself and he slowly bent down, feeling drawn in by that gaze.

"Thank you…" he whispered, his own eyes unfocused.

Zack clapped his hands and Cloud took a step away, startled. "Stop  _doing_ that!" he laughed at Angeal. "That's the third time."

The man looked embarrassed. "It's not on purpose."

As Cloud took his seat again Genesis winked at him from across the table. "We all know he's cute, but try not to look him in the eye. He hasn't had his other meal yet."

The blond was so confused by a great many things but was trying to pick his battles. He just nodded, and asked what had happened to Sephiroth.

The witch who controlled all of the Lifestream was named Jenova. She replaced Minerva after she died two years ago, and where Minerva had been kind and benevolent Jenova created something of a dictatorship. She assembled a crew of powerful individuals to help her control the land and sought out Sephiroth, one of the most powerful familiars, to be her own.

"And Seph said 'fuck no,'" Genesis told him, an eyebrow raised. "Those exact words. Who the hell would want to be Bonded to Jenova, of all witches? And besides, he knew you would end up here one day."

Enraged at Sephiroth's refusal Jenova ordered her subordinate, Kadaj, to cast the spell that permanently trapped Sephiroth in his animal form. Kadaj and a few of his men had cornered Sephiroth alone while he was walking through town, and while Sephiroth was a great fighter there was not much he could do after being transformed.

Genesis reached up to rub his knuckles against Sephiroth's neck. "Kadaj thought it was hilarious."

"Hasn't it been hard? For all of you?"

They all nodded. Genesis pouted, "Sex has been the worst thing about it."

Zack laughed and Cloud smiled awkwardly.

"No, we haven't had sex with a  _bird_ ," Zack reassured, "Though honestly, with Seph, a giant spider, and a werewolf…those things get kind of blurred sometimes."

"What!"

"Sweetheart," Genesis said, almost talking to him like he was a child, "We're all dating. That wasn't obvious?"

"No, it wasn't," Cloud replied, heated, but moved on. "I meant—you're a werewolf?"

Zack grinned, his mouth full of those sharp teeth. "Hell yeah I am. You didn't get my joke about Seph's last name being 'Full'? Crescent moon, full moon? Eh?"

"You're a moron," Angeal chuckled.

"And what about you?" Cloud asked Angeal.

"Vampire," he responded demurely, and brought a forkful of chicken to his mouth.

Cloud blinked rapidly at him. The man didn't look much like he thought a vampire would, but then again, he had the strange Victorian clothes like Zack's, the cape, the red eyes…

"Wow," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"And you're a witch," Zack told him, nodding firmly. "So the gang's all here. We're going to have to work together to get Seph back to his human form."

"How?"

In the end it all came back to Kadaj. As he was the one to cast the spell he would have to be the one taken out. Not killed, they said, but incapacitated. If Kadaj was to die the spell's effects would be permanent. They needed a witch to Bind him, to keep him holed away somewhere where he could do no more damage but be stripped of his power.

It all seemed a bit too much.

"I'm sorry," Cloud told them. "I don't know magic. I don't even really believe I'm a witch. I'm not sure how I can help."

"Well you can learn, duh." Zack shrugged. "That's what spellbooks and stuff is for. We'll help you, Spike. We have two weeks."

Two weeks did not seem like a lot of time and Cloud, despite being so calm a man most of the time, was close to panicking again. The others reassured him again that they would figure it out. Cloud was still very much exhausted and they all got ready for bed.

They gave Cloud one of the bedrooms. Through the wall he heard Angeal yelling about the fake cockroaches Zack hid in his bed, and he smiled faintly, staring at the ceiling. A rustle of feathers made him look at the door and he held out his hand for Sephiroth.

The raven came to him, his head ducked and his wings tucked tight like he was sleepy too. "Goodnight," Cloud whispered to him. A wing twitched in acknowledgement and Cloud swallowed thickly, his jaw tense. He wasn't sure if it was possible to find another 'portal' back to his world right away, or if it would take time to locate. He wanted to get back to Nibelheim so badly, but… Sephiroth here, this big, intimidating bird, met his gaze and Cloud felt the distant thrumming of the connection between them. That strange Bond Zack told him about. Could he leave him here in good conscience, forever trapped in this form, if the others were right and only a witch could take Kadaj out of the picture?

"Tomorrow we'll—start working on gettin' you back. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but… I'll give it a try."

Sephiroth shifted his feet and patted one against the fleshy part of Cloud's palm a few times. Then he took off, flying out of the room and into the next to join his family. Cloud curled up in his bed and, fighting homesickness and loneliness, tried to sleep.

 


End file.
